Misunderstandings
by Lady Lanera
Summary: Sharon gets her perfect Christmas finally... after she clears up one big misunderstanding first. Alternate Universe


**Disclaimer: **_Major Crimes _is so not mine, clearly.

**A/N: **This is purely a result of me needing to write some humor, as I work on another MC fic full of drama and heartbreak. Any errors are clearly my own. Enjoy.

**Misunderstandings**

Once the driver's side door was shut, Rusty let out the breath he had been holding. He did his best to ignore his racing heart, but found that to be impossible. Swallowing and saying a silent prayer, he slowly walked around to the other side of the silver Hyundai Genesis. The moment his eyes saw the deep scratches and very large dent in the side, he felt his mood plummet. Sharon was going to kill him.

Glancing up at the condo, he noticed that the lights were off. She had likely already gone to bed. It was a quarter to three in the morning after all. And, seeing as how he had been working late nights for two weeks now on _Badge of Justice, _there would be no reason for her to worry either. Because, technically, he wasn't late yet. The scene they had been filming had wrapped up earlier than expected and allowed him to head home before his usual three am end time. Only a stupid idiot at the studio killed whatever time he would have gained. Hanging his head, Rusty sighed in defeat. He was just starting to get used to having a mother who cared and wanted him. All good things had to come to end sometime, though. He had learned that long ago.

The young man then slowly meandered his way into their building, taking the 'scenic route' up to their condo. A part of him, a very small part nowadays, tried to convince him to run away. To just avoid the whole situation. But that would not solve this problem. Plus, he was too damn tired to run.

He finally reached the door. 1109. He stared at the door handle for several moments, the keys shaking in his hand. She was going to throw him out. Everyone had a breaking point. He had likely just reached hers. But he had to tell her the truth. He owed her that much after everything.

Inhaling deeply, he unlocked the door and crossed the threshold. It was now or never. Once he closed and locked the door behind him, he headed down the narrow hallway to Sharon's room. He hesitated briefly, his closed fist in midair in front of Sharon's closed door. Maybe she wouldn't care.

"Sharon?" Rusty quietly said, his voice cracking slightly. He heard a noise from inside her room but he couldn't make it out. He then sighed heavily before knocking sharply at her closed door prior to opening it slowly. He could just make out the shadow in her bed. The little voice in his head reminded him that it wasn't too late to turn around yet. "Sharon?" He paused for half a moment before continuing. "I'm sorry to, like, bother you right now, but, um, I need to talk to you." There was still no reply so he trudged forward. "It's about your car. I, uh, sort of got into an accident coming home from work."

"Huh?" a gruff voice replied sleepily. A voice that most certainly did not belong to Sharon.

Rusty's hand instantly went to the light switch, flipping the lights on. His jaw dropped.

"Oh, god . . . do you really have to blind a guy, kid?" the messy white-haired man groaned, his bare arm held up to shield his eyes from the harsh bright lights.

"Jack!" Rusty yelled in pure shock. What the hell was Jack doing there? And in Sharon's bed of all places? Didn't the man get the hint that she wasn't interested in him like that anymore? They had divorced after all. Rusty's eyes then quickly darted about the room, looking for Sharon and finding no sign of her. "You're not supposed to be here." He heard Jack's instant snort and felt a surge of anger rise inside him. How dare Jack find this funny! "I'm calling Sharon," Rusty stated, his hand going to his jeans pocket to dig out his cellphone.

"Go ahead," Jack replied with a shrug, leaning against the pillows with his arm now propped up behind his head as only a sheet covered the rest of him. "All that will happen is that she'll be mad at both of us."

"You broke into her condo!" Rusty shouted, glaring at the older man. "That's, like, breaking and entering." Again, Jack sniggered, which only further irritated Rusty. Having witnessed similar situations with his biological mother and stalker-ish ex-boyfriends over the years, he knew that he was right in his actions. So, holding true to his words, he called Sharon's cellphone.

"Don't forget to tell her about her car," Jack reminded, the cocky grin on his face.

Creepy asshole ex-husband in her bed would be more important than finding out about her car at this point. Rusty just knew it. So, there was no need to tell her that quite yet. Deal with Jack, and his latest popping out of the blue, was first priority. Car was going to be much later. Much, much later. Like, twenty years from then. When Rusty was far away.

As the line kept ringing, Rusty kept glaring at Jack. Breaking and entering was just the start of things Jack had done this time. There was likely also harassment and—Rusty wondered if someone could be arrested for just being plain sick. He found that the longer he waited, the more he started to notice about Jack. The man didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that he was likely going to get yelled at or arrested or possibly shot—Rusty wouldn't blame Sharon if she shot Jack at this point. Sure, she had dinner with Jack and their kids that one time … but . . . Rusty was pretty sure that they hadn't gotten back together. He'd know if they had. He was sure of it.

* * *

><p>Leaning against a desk in the Murder Room as she listened to her team brief her about their suspect in the interview room, Sharon found her eyes narrowing the moment her phone started to ring. She heard Tao pause respectfully, allowing her to pull her phone out and glance at the screen. Rusty was calling her? Her gut clenched in immediate worry. Something was wrong. He would have only had time to just pull out of the studio lot.<p>

"Excuse me," she quietly said, heading towards her office quickly. Once she was safely in her office with the door closed, she answered her call. "Rusty, what's wrong?"

"_Jack's here, Sharon."_

Her head fell forward, as her hand came up to cover her eyes. She had given Jack one thing to do before she left to come to the station. One measly directive: Make sure you're gone before Rusty gets home. And Jack couldn't even do that. Though, what else was new?

"_Sharon?"_ Rusty paused for half a moment. "_All right. I'll take care of it."_

Rusty would take care of Jack? How? She frowned for half a moment as she tried to work out possible scenarios on that one. Her mind then returned to the young man's previous experiences with his biological mother's boyfriends. He likely had thought Jack had broken in and was harassing her, so logically he'd call the cops. However, before she could tell Rusty not to worry, that she'd deal with it later, the line disconnected. She wasn't worried that Jack had taken the phone from Rusty. No, she had a feeling the bastard was still in bed, amused as hell with what was happening.

Biting back a growl of annoyance, she stormed out of her office and caught Provenza's eyes. "Lieutenant, get ahold of Dispatch and inform them to ignore all calls at my residence." She caught his immediate surprise and forced a smile to keep from screaming. "Please."

Provenza gave her one last look before he complied.

"Everything all right, Sharon?" Flynn asked, his head cocked to the side.

"Yes, Andy," she replied, her smile being forced just a bit more. Oh, when she got home later, she'd smack that no-doubt annoying grin off Jack's face hard. Even though, it was rather her fault all this had happened, not Jack's. No matter how badly she wanted it to be his fault . . .

"It's done, Captain," Provenza stated a moment later, hanging the phone up.

She sighed silently. Having Jack back in her life again was going to bite her in the butt once more. She could just tell. Feeling her team's questioning eyes on her, she stood more rigid. There was no way she was going to let them in on what was happening. Not before she told her kids first.

"Would you like me to continue, Captain?" Tao asked a few moments afterwards.

"Yes, please." She then sighed heavily before biting back a groan as a thought occurred to her. "Actually, just wait a minute, Mike. I need to take care of something." She started heading towards her office once more, pausing when she heard Provenza's annoying ringtone screeching loudly behind her. She whirled around, a horrifying thought occurring to her. "If that's Rusty, Lieutenant, don't answer it." She caught everyone's surprise instantly. It was rather shocking to hear her mouth issue those particular orders. "That goes for all of you. Don't answer your phones. Not if it's Rusty at least."

"Sharon, are you sure everything's all right?" Flynn's eyes narrowed on her.

"It's fine. He just . . . there was a misunderstanding. One I'm working on clearing up." _Before the rest of the damn division finds out that I took Jack back,_ she thought.

* * *

><p>Rusty glanced down at the phone in complete and utter disbelief. Lieutenant Provenza hung up on him? What? He couldn't do that!<p>

Seeing the shock on the young man's face, Jack chuckled quietly as he snatched his boxers and shirt from the floor beside the bed. Poor kid. A part of him felt rather guilty for enjoying this. He then sighed inwardly, knowing what he had to do. He couldn't be that Jack anymore. Those were the terms of their deal. "Rusty," Jack started, his voice even and friendly, "you might want to stop calling everyone for a second and listen. Sharon—" However, a phone ringing somewhere nearby cut him off, causing Jack's head to fall forward instantly in response to it. There went that plan.

Rusty glanced around the room for half a moment before he grimaced when he found where the ringing was coming from. He threw a look at Jack, noticing the older man's resigned expression, before he gingerly picked up the haphazardly discarded pants behind the armchair near the door. He tossed them at Jack a moment later.

With a quick glance at the caller ID, Jack made a face before answering. "Sharon, hi—" He then went silent, the awkward grin falling from his face immediately.

Rusty craned his head to listen in, but it was to no avail. He couldn't hear anything Sharon was saying. However, judging by Jack's look, Rusty knew that the man was likely getting a talking to and then some. Which served the man right.

After a moment or two, Jack sighed and stood up before taking a couple of steps towards Rusty. He held his cellphone out. "She'd like to speak to you," he explained.

Frowning deeply, Rusty took the phone hesitantly. Was he going to be in trouble now, too? He was just trying to help. It was all Jack's fault after all!

"Hello?"

"_Do not hang up on me this time, Rusty."_

"I won't. I promise," he replied at once, relieved to hear that she wasn't yelling at him. Yet.

"_Good. Now, I realize this is going to sound . . ." _she paused for a moment as if to choose the right word _"strange, but I need you to stop calling everyone and let me handle this in my own way."_

Rusty's eyes darted to Jack instantly. He, too, had asked Rusty to stop calling everyone. As he watched Jack silently collect his belongings from around the room, the young man frowned deeply. She was going to let Jack off the hook again. Unbelievable. Did she not understand—but she was a police officer—of all people, Rusty thought, she'd know that this sort of behavior couldn't be allowed. That it would lead to scary things later on. Scarier things that Rusty didn't want to ever happen to her.

"Sharon," Rusty started to argue.

"_No, sweetheart."_ Sharon sighed. _"Rusty, I'll take care of Jack and explain everything later."_

He shut his eyes tightly. Every bit inside him knew that this was a bad idea. But he couldn't say no to her this time. "Fine," he grudgingly replied, catching Jack's quick look at him.

"_Thank you, sweetheart."_

Rusty pursed his lips and looked away. This wasn't right.

"_I'll explain more when I get home, but right now I have to get back to the Murder Room."_

The young man didn't even attempt to hold back his scoff.

"_Rusty, listen to me. I do appreciate your trying to protect me from Jack, but it's not needed in this case. I promise."_

She wouldn't be the first mother who had broken a promise like that. He then blinked as he realized what he had just thought. Sharon was much smarter than his other mom. A much better mother, too. So, maybe he was just being too overprotective and worrying needlessly. After all, he had seen her in action before. She knew how to protect herself. He then glanced back at Jack, watching the man search frantically for something. She could handle him. Rusty was sure of it.

"I love you." Rusty instantly glared when Jack's head shot up and his eyes darted to him in surprise. A faint smile slowly crossed Jack's face.

"_I love you, too, sweetheart."_ Sharon's voice was full of love and warmth. "_I'll see you soon."_ The line then was disconnected, causing a pang of sadness to appear inside Rusty for half a moment.

"That was your first time saying it to her, wasn't it?" Jack asked quietly, standing tall again.

"No," Rusty replied, defiantly holding his head up. He hoped karma kicked Jack square in the ass and then some. Or maybe he'd just do it if the man said anything about it.

"Hey, I meant nothing by it, kid. Just, you know, good for you." Jack then sighed, holding his hand out and grabbing his phone back from Rusty. He was almost to the door when his phone rang yet again. This time, Rusty caught a look of surprise cross Jack's face.

"Jack Raydor," Jack answered a second afterwards, his phone to his ear. He was pure business now. As if he hadn't just been caught breaking into his ex-wife's condo and sleeping naked in her bed. Several minutes passed before he spoke again. "Yeah, I can take the case. Who's got her currently?" His eyes then darted to Rusty, the color leaving his face instantly. "Major Crimes, you say?" Jack forced an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Oh, uh, no. No, it's no problem. I'll be there in, say, fifteen. Thanks."

"You're going to the station?" Rusty asked in disbelief. When he thought karma would get Jack back, he wasn't expecting it'd be this soon.

"So it seems." Jack then sighed, taking a step towards the bedrooms before thinking better on it.

"Well, then I'm coming with you."

"Why? So you can see me get yelled at some more?" Jack laughed and shook his head. "At least you're honest, kid." He then glanced towards Sharon's bedroom before looking at Rusty. "I don't suppose you'd allow me to go back in there to get one of my suit jackets, would you? And a tie?"

Rusty gave him a look. "What's wrong with what you're wearing?"

Jack was wearing one of his white buttoned down shirts with a pair of blue jeans and a nice pair of dress shoes. He snorted and shook his head, clearly amused.

"I need to look a little more presentable than this when I speak to my client for the first time, Rusty. Otherwise, they'll just think I'm some homeless guy off the streets."

Rusty glared at him, biting his cheek to keep back his smart remark. He then shook his head and turned back, heading towards Sharon's bedroom. There was no way he was going to let Jack anywhere near her room again. Grabbing the first tie and jacket he saw in the closet, he returned, tossing them at Jack half a moment later.

"There. Now, can we go?"

Jack nodded, turning and reaching for where Sharon usually kept her car keys. He then stopped and glanced back at Rusty. "You still have her keys?"

Rusty nodded, pulling her keys out. However, he then remembered what he had been trying to confess to her in the first place. His anger at Jack quickly vanished and was replaced by worry.

"What?" Jack's eyes narrowed on him. "What's wrong, Rusty?"

"We can't take her car," the young man replied numbly.

"What do you mean, we can't take her car? Course we can. You've got permission to drive it. And if she asks, I'll tell her it was my idea. You're in the clear, kid."

Rusty stared back at Jack, though. "We can't."

"Why?" After several moments of staring intensely at Rusty, Jack finally blinked and said, "Oh." He then sighed loudly and shook his head. "Well, how bad's the damage anyway? Like a little dent? Because if that's the case, trust me. She won't care that much. I mean, she will, but, let's just say, she still loves Ricky after he backed into the police commissioner's car."

The laugh left Rusty's mouth before he could stop himself. Ricky did what?

"Yeah. It was pretty funny afterwards," Jack admitted. "Come on, kid. Let's see how bad this is."

Five minutes later, Jack and Rusty were standing in front of the passenger's side door.

"Huh." Jack glanced at Rusty after inspecting the damage closely.

"I'm screwed, aren't I?"

"What hit you?" Jack asked, brushing off Rusty's question.

It hit him as strange for a brief second that Jack had asked 'what had hit him' instead of leading with a 'What did you hit?' With a heavy sigh, Rusty quietly answered, "Golf cart."

"Ouch. The other guy all right?"

"Yeah. I think." Rusty glanced back at the dented door. "She's going to kill me." Jack gently patted his shoulder in sympathy. Turning his head to the side, Rusty half-glared at him. It was all his fault. He wasn't certain how. But things always went screwy when Jack showed up. He was sure of it. He couldn't wait to see how Sharon dealt with Jack once they arrived.

* * *

><p>Just when she thought this morning could not get any worse, Sharon caught Jack walking into the Murder Room with Rusty at his side. She noticed her teams' shoulders haunch up defensively and bit back a sigh. So much for them forgetting about the last time Jack had showed up.<p>

"What are you doing here, Jack?"

He gave her a faint, polite smile. "Nice to see you, too, Sharon. I'm coming to see my client actually. Which room is she in?" Tao was the one who reluctantly pointed towards one of the Interview rooms. "Thank you, Lieutenant." Jack quietly walked away, entering the room and disappearing behind the door a moment later.

Sharon glanced upwards at the ceiling and shook her head. She then looked towards the young man who was standing and staring at her strangely. "Rusty, why are you here?"

"That's it? That's all you're going to say?" he replied, his mouth opened slightly. "That's how you're going to deal with it? By pretending it didn't happen?"

She gave him a sharp look. "Rusty," she said warningly.

"He was in your bed, Sharon!" Rusty yelled. "Naked!"

She caught Flynn's surprised cough instantly and heard Provenza's pen clatter onto his desk. Her eyes flashed dangerously. "My office, now!" she snapped, her voice cracking just a bit. She couldn't even look at her officers as she followed Rusty to her office. The minute they were inside, she closed the blinds and just stared at Rusty.

"He was in your bed, Sharon," the young man reiterated.

"I'm well aware of that, Rusty."

"He should be arrested."

"For what? For being Jack?" she shot back without thinking, crossing her arms protectively.

"It's criminal. It has to be. Or at the very least crazy and insane!"

She stopped herself instantly and drew in a sharp breath to hold back her words. Once she felt calm again, she let her hands drop to her side. "Rusty, listen to me very carefully."

"No, you listen to me, Sharon," the young man interrupted. "I get that he has some sort power over you." Her brow raised instantly. "I saw it before with my other mom and one of her loser ass boyfriends. But, trust me, Sharon. That guy is bad news for you. And you know it. You've been happy since you kicked his ass to the curb for good and divorced him. All he brings is, like, chaos to your world. You don't need that. And you sure as hell don't need him. So, just ask Lieutenant Flynn or Sanchez to throw his ass into jail. They'd be happy to. We both know it."

She sighed heavily and shook her head. She felt a major migraine coming on. Rubbing her temples for half a moment, her hand then slid downwards before her fingers brushed against a silver chain of the necklace she was wearing. There was no good way to say this. Not anymore anyway.

"Rusty." She then sighed again, pausing as she tried to think of some tactful way of putting it. "I can't arrest Jack." When he opened his mouth to likely argue and reiterate his earlier points, she held her hand up and cut him off. "Because he did nothing wrong, sweetheart. Not this time at least."

"He broke into your condo, Sharon. After you changed the locks. That's, like, breaking and entering, and maybe trespassing or something."

Closing her eyes, she hung her head. Her fingers gently traced the small Celtic cross she was wearing. She had to have done something in a past life to have so many things go so wrong.

"It would be, if I hadn't invited him in, Rusty."

"What?" He stared at her, shell-shocked.

"I invited Jack to come in after" she winced "dinner last night."

"Dinner? Wait. You had dinner with Jack and the kids again? I thought Rick and Emily were—"

"It was just Jack and me."

Rusty stared blankly. "So . . . what . . . you're, like, back together again? Husband and wife?"

"No. We're still divorced," she answered.

The young man frowned, clearly trying to wrap his head around what she was saying. Several minutes passed before he finally said, "I don't understand."

_Join the club, _she thought. "You don't need to understand, Rusty." She then sighed when he went to argue. "This is between Jack and me, not you."

"But what about your kids? What are they going to think, Sharon?"

She resisted the urge to wince. Ricky and Emily had been on her mind a lot lately, usually whenever she was talking to them actually. She then drew in a calculating breath. "We are not asking any of you for permission, Rusty. Not you, not Ricky, and not Emily."

"Don't you think you should've let us in on it, though?"

"Rusty—" Shouting outside of her office, though, drew her attention instantly. "What in the world?" She quickly headed towards the window, moving back one of the vertical blinds and looking out. Her mouth dropped before she huffed in annoyance and threw open her door. She couldn't even leave them alone for two minutes. Honestly. "What's going on out here?" she demanded, glaring at each member of her team, minus Provenza, who had surrounded Jack.

"We've got this, ma'am," Julio answered, standing in front of Jack with his back to her.

Sharon's eyes darted to Provenza, noticing that the lieutenant was sitting back in his chair looking on in pure amusement at the sight of the rest of the team circled around Jack defensively.

"Lieutenant!" she snapped. She caught Provenza's eyes instantly.

"Yes, Captain?"

She could see the slight twitch of the corner of his mouth. _Bastard._ She then caught Jack's eyes. He looked torn between laughing and being honestly scared. Though, Julio and Andy had that effect on people sometimes, especially when they were in full blown overprotective mode.

"Did it ever cross your mind to, I don't know, step in, Lieutenant?" she asked rhetorically.

Provenza shrugged.

"Honestly, Captain, I'm just waiting for my popcorn to arrive and see where this goes."

Sharon gave her cheeky lieutenant the darkest glare she had. If it wasn't Rusty, it was Provenza. She swore that she wasn't certain which member of her team around here was going to give her the aneurysm first.

Provenza then sighed. "All right, guys. You heard the captain. That's enough," he called out.

The others quickly stepped aside. Flynn and Sanchez, however, remained close and clearly at the ready to slam Jack up against the wall if they thought for even a second he was a threat to Sharon.

Jack quietly cleared his throat, seemingly looking rather uncomfortable. "My, uh, client's ready to talk now."

She inclined her head, walking towards him. "Thank you." She walked in between Flynn and Sanchez, giving both a warning look before she reached Jack. They then walked back towards the Interview Room together.

However, before they entered, Jack hesitantly touched her arm.

"I'm sorry, Sharon," he said quietly.

She sighed and shook her head, knowing that every member of her team was watching them closely. "It's not your fault, Jack."

"This time," he added, catching her gaze.

She groaned inwardly, looking over her glasses at him. He smiled back faintly and turned back to the door to open it.

"By the way, Sharon, you wouldn't happen to know where my necklace is, would you?" he asked quietly under his breath so only she heard it.

Stifling a soft laugh, she fished the silver Celtic cross out from underneath her blouse and briefly showed it to him before tucking it back in. She had been wondering if that had been bugging him at all, not knowing where his cross was. It was half the reason she had taken it from him before leaving the condo earlier.

"Huh," Jack said softly. "Always looked better on you anyway." He then opened the door for her and let her in. She rolled her eyes, walking in.

* * *

><p>As soon as the deal had been made to everyone's satisfaction and another murderer was off the streets for good, Sharon walked out of the Interview Room with Jack trailing after a moment later. She frowned when she caught Flynn and Sanchez standing right outside the door. What'd they think was going to happen exactly? She then glanced upwards and groaned inwardly. There was way too much testosterone in this department. She never had half of these problems when she was the head of FID.<p>

"So she took you back, huh?" Flynn said, crossing his arms.

"I'm right here, Lieutenant," Sharon stated, giving him a look.

"You love her?"

_Oh, dear god, _Sharon groaned in her head. "Lieutenant Flynn—"

"I do, Andy," Jack answered automatically, "which is why I suggest you listen to her and stop."

Flynn gave a short laugh and nodded. He then leaned in, a cocky grin on his face. "Just between you and me, what was the deal, Jack?"

The minute she heard his question, her eyes flashed. "Lieutenant Flynn!" She noticed his instant flinch before he glanced at her. "One more word from you, and you're on desk duty!" She heard the soft snickers from the rest of the team and glared even more at him. Sensitivity training was going to be in order and then some for Andy.

Flynn only inclined his head a moment later and stepped to the side, though.

Having thoroughly been annoyed to death now, Sharon whirled back and headed towards her office to get Rusty so they could go home. She paused at her door, though, when she heard Jack's phone ring behind her. She turned back and glanced at him. As he continued to just stare at his phone, she felt her gut clench. What now?

"Jack?" she said quietly.

He then laughed loudly, finally snapping out of it, and gave her a wide smile as he answered his phone. "Ricky, how the hell are you, son?"

Her eyes widened before she glanced at her office. Rusty. This had his name written all over it. Just as sudden as the call had come was as soon as it ended. She heard Jack's sigh and looked towards him. He smiled faintly towards her and shrugged.

"Cat's out of the bag now," he commented with a soft scoff. "We're going to have to move it up sooner now."

"Yeah." She couldn't believe it. They had been so close to the date they had set. A week actually. Ricky and Emily were set to arrive a few days from then. And they were going to tell the kids all together. Only the plan went to hell. Like always.

"Rusty first?" Jack offered, giving her a sympathetic look.

She nodded slowly, finally walking into her office alone. The moment she saw Rusty sitting in the chair tucked over in the corner on his phone, she sighed. Just once she'd like something to go according to plan. Just once. She crossed her arms and gave him a forced smile. No doubt he was texting Emily now.

Rusty looked up finally, stuffing his phone back into his pocket before crossing his arms as well to match her challenging look. "Well, what?"

Drawing in a slow breath, she held her arm out towards the door. "Time to go home, Rusty."

"With Jack?" he asked bitingly.

"Let's go." When the young man didn't move, she snapped her fingers and pointed at the door. "Now, Rusty," she ordered.

"I'm not a dog, Sharon. God," Rusty huffed, standing up and moving towards the door.

It was like her first day living with Rusty all over again. The constant fighting she thought had been long past their current relationship, but a part of her could understand why it was happening. He was thinking that Jack was a threat. Which any other time, she'd agree with Rusty. But Jack was sticking to the deal this time and going above and beyond it as well.

"How can you take that idiot back anyway? Do you enjoy being made a fool over and over again by him, Sharon?"

She inhaled sharply and frowned deeply before holding an arm out and stopping him from leaving. "I realize you're angry, Rusty, and I'm sorry. However, I would appreciate it if you showed Jack some respect—"

"He doesn't show you any, though. Why don't you get on his case?"

"I'd appreciate it, Rusty, if you showed Jack the same respect you show me. Is this understood? That means no snide remarks. No attitude with him. None of it, Rusty."

He opened his mouth, likely to argue more, before he clamped it firmly shut and brushed past her. She sighed, glancing upwards. She followed him out soon after, grabbing her purse as she left.

"All set?" Jack asked, as soon as they walked out of her office. He was leaning against the wall, doing his best to not be imposing.

Sharon nodded, her eyes following after Rusty who was doing his very best two-year-old impression right then by storming towards the exit.

"Night, Captain," a few members of her team said, catching her eye as she walked past. They all had that sympathetic and worried look on their faces. Like they weren't sure if this was a good idea to let her go home with Rusty and Jack.

"Good night," she replied quietly.

"Captain?" Provenza called out, drawing her attention almost immediately. "We'll get you a good deal with Hobbs."

She blinked in confusion at first before Provenza jerked his head towards Rusty and Jack. She then scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Thank you, Lieutenant." She had a feeling she'd need one.

* * *

><p>Glancing at Jack briefly as he stood out on the balcony, Sharon found herself at a loss for words. She knew that if she thought talking to Rusty about the true nature of her relationship with Jack was difficult, that she had another thing coming with their actual kids. Her mantra kept repeating in her head, as it had done for weeks now. She didn't have to justify why she had taken Jack back for the hundredth time. That was between her and Jack. But sitting next to the clearly upset young man couldn't help but make her wonder if she had in fact done the wrong thing.<p>

"Rusty, I realize you're upset." She heard his trademark huff instantly. "We were going to tell you, all of our kids actually, at Christmas."

"Why Christmas?" Rusty's eyes then darted to Jack briefly before returning to her. "Was it because you thought he couldn't keep up the charade that long?"

"Rusty," she warned, giving him a disapproving look.

She had been so careful this time. She had done everything deliberately and precise to make sure that there would be no chance of anyone except her getting hurt if it didn't work out and Jack disappointed once more. Hell, truth be told, she didn't really expect Jack to stick to the terms of the deal they had struck up. But he had. He had stuck to it and then some, showing her that he was willing to work harder than he had ever done before when they were married to make things right, to prove to her that he wasn't that man anymore. She sighed quietly.

"It's very complicated. And to be honest, it's not really any of your business. Or Ricky's. Or Emily's."

"In other words, it was your idea," Rusty snottily said. He then shook his head. "Did you even stop to think about your kids? About how this would affect them?"

"We did."

"That's complete bull." Rusty scoffed. "If you really gave a damn, then you'd have told us right away instead of hiding it from us for so long. It's like you didn't trust us."

"There was no need to involve you in a matter that is between Jack and me, Rusty."

"Until now. When I come home to find him in your bed naked."

She sighed, nodding slowly. "Rusty, sometimes we want one thing to happen, but the opposite happens instead. Sometimes it's better that way." She then glanced at Jack and turned back. "I realize that it's confusing for you." _Sometimes it confuses me as well,_ she added in her head.

"You love the _idea_ of him, Sharon," Rusty pointed out. The young man then sighed. "If our roles were reversed, this is, like, the part where you'd tell me that. Followed by some sort of thing that was, like, you don't need to be with someone to be happy. That you can be perfectly happy alone."

She couldn't help but laugh. "You're probably right."

Rusty made a face at her laugh, and she immediately stopped. He was confused, she reminded herself, but making him feel as though his concerns were laughable would not help the situation.

"So, then, maybe I'm right again and that this isn't right for you, Sharon." Rusty then motioned towards Jack, who was staring off at the skyline and tapping out some rhythm with his foot. "That he's not right for you." His eyes darted to him. "I mean, no offense to Jack, but everything I've seen of him points to his being a manipulative, selfish ass." He turned back to her. "So, if he really loved you, Sharon, he'd let you keep living your life without him instead of trying to ruin it and sending your life into a tailspin like it always does when he's around."

Her eyes softened slightly at the end of Rusty's little speech. "Sweetheart, I appreciate you trying to protect me, but that's not your job."

"I'm your son, aren't I?" the young man asked blankly.

"You are," she replied, leaning forward and grabbing Rusty's hand.

"Well, then, that _is_ my job. And Emily and Ricky agree with me, too. They think he's got you under his spell again and that you're going to get hurt."

"Rusty . . ."

He glanced at Jack, who had now slumped down a bit. "Can you really say that he's being honest this time?"

Her eyes slowly moved to her ex-husband before she sighed quietly. "Yes, Rusty. I can."

"What's to say that he's not just going to run off and abandon you yet again? Leave us to pick up the pieces once more?"

The 'us' he had used stung. She had always made sure her children never had to pick up the pieces. Always. Even when Jack left last time, she made sure it had affected Rusty as little as possible. She always protected her children. She knew she couldn't stop all the hurt his leaving caused, but she tried to keep it to a minimum. "That's enough, Rusty." She said the words softly, but felt his hand flinch underneath hers nonetheless. "I appreciate your concern, but it's unnecessary. I don't need my children looking after me. It's not your job." She sighed quietly. "I realize that your heart is in the right place, sweetheart. If I get hurt again, that's on me, though."

Rusty's head snapped back towards Jack. "What? Suddenly he thinks you're not good enough for him now?"

Sharon wanted to groan. It was like beating one's head against a brick wall. How had he even jumped to that conclusion? Somewhere in her past life, she had to have done something so unforgivable.

"Rusty," she warned, giving him a look a moment later. When his eyes met hers, she said the first thing that came to her. "You don't have to approve of this. But you are going to have to deal with it, young man."

He frowned before pulling his hand back and sitting back against the sofa with his arms crossed. He was three, she was sure of it. "Fine. But if he's New-And-Improved Jack, I can ask him questions, right?"

She heard Jack's half-cough, half-laugh from the balcony instantly. She glanced sideways towards him and found Jack now facing them with a faint embarrassed grin. She had been wondering if he had been out there eavesdropping from the balcony the entire time. There were lots of reasons why it wasn't a good idea for Rusty to ask him questions. Though, she sighed a moment later when Jack gave her a slight shrug of why not.

"Keep in mind, though, Rusty, that we're not asking for permission. This is a done deal until we say it isn't."

"I got it." Rusty then turned his full attention to Jack, who waited until Sharon gave him the okay to come back inside.

"All right, kiddo. Ask away," Jack drawled, dropping himself into a nearby chair. "I've got nothing to hide."

"What's Sharon's favorite flower?"

"Orchid." He then smirked as his eyes darted briefly to several of the flowers in the room. "Obviously."

"When did you two start dating again?"

Sharon tensed instantly. Dating sounded . . . juvenile. Seeing each other was a better way of putting it.

"Two months after the divorce was finalized."

She caught his eye. It had been a chance encounter. A ridiculous one if she were honest. She had happened upon him when he was coming out of his AA meeting one night, which unfortunately was held in the building next to her crime scene. At first, she had tried to ignore the fact that he had walked out, but then the little voice reminded her that this was her children's father after all and that she had to at least be cordial with him. It had been a brief encounter, but he seemed . . . different during their quick talk. She had thought nothing of it much at the time, really, but after talking to the kids later in the week and asking them if they had spoken with Jack lately and learning that he was calling them regularly, it floored her. Especially after the kids had told her that Jack hadn't asked for anything but the chance to talk to them. In fact, at first she wondered if someone was impersonating her ex-husband.

However, a few days after that, she saw him again. This time with him coming to her condo. Initially, she considered calling the cops on him for a brief few seconds. But he had come by to apologize. She'd been suspicious, of course. But this apology didn't have any of the usual strings attached. He hadn't tried to blame anyone. Just a straight forward apology. One that he clearly meant. He then left to go back to his own apartment without asking for anything in return, leaving her standing in the doorway wondering what the hell had just happened.

The next time she saw him was a month after their divorce had been finalized. He was representing a client that Major Crimes was holding. It hadn't gone well in his favor at all, as his client ignored all of his advice and figuratively shot himself in the foot after one session with Sanchez in the Interview Room. He had sent her a bottle of her favorite wine later to congratulate her on the win and wished her all the best.

And after that, the next time she saw him was at one of the charity balls that the department had forced Major Crimes to attend. She had been confused at first to see him, but learned later that he had made a large donation to the department, specifically hers, and had been invited as a special guest by Assistant Chief Taylor. She had tried to keep her distance from her ex-husband that night, but her curiosity got the better of her. She ended up asking him for a dance, which he accepted.

The dance had felt right. But then again it usually did. It was afterwards that things would start going downhill for them usually. They danced their usual dance. And once it was done, he kissed her cheek and told her that she was the most gorgeous woman there before he thanked her and left. She couldn't help but feel utterly confused and upset afterwards. She had moved on. But after he had left, something she couldn't put her finger on had awakened inside her. So, she did the most natural thing a person could do in her situation, she turned away and headed for the doors to clear her mind.

Her team, she knew, had all seen her leave after her dance with Jack. However, they didn't dare approach her about it whatsoever. A thing she was most grateful for. She had a feeling Provenza had understood right then and there what had happened and called the others off right away. For being known as a grump, he certainly did have a warm heart sometimes.

"Sharon?"

Her eyes darted to Rusty right away, noticing that Jack was looking at her as well. "I'm fine." She settled back even further into the sofa. "Rusty, what's the point of asking Jack how many pancakes I eat?"

The young man shrugged grumpily. He really was acting like a three year old. If her two older children behaved this way, she would stick all three of them in a corner until they learned to behave.

"Rusty," Jack replied soon after, "I spent a long time not realizing how wonderful and precious of a gift I had in Sharon, and with the kids." Jack hesitated, glancing at her briefly. "You have no idea how sorry I am for that. I'd give anything to go back and redo things. I can't, though. There's nothing I can do to change what I did. But I am trying to be better."

The sincerity in Jack's voice made Sharon's chest feel tight. Turning back to her younger son, she directed her next question at Rusty. "Before today, has anything changed?" She was shocked when the young man stood up instantly, clearly outraged by something.

"Everything's changed now, Sharon!" Rusty yelled. He quickly wrapped his arms around his midsection protectively, his lower lip started to tremble as he fought with himself to put on the brave face.

Her eyes widened immediately. What in the world was going through his head now? By her estimates, nothing had changed. She had been seeing Jack for a few months now, and by all accounts no one would have known if Jack would've left this morning. "What?" Her voice was low and gentle.

Rusty turned away, though, but not before she saw him wipe at his eyes.

Jack gave her a questioning look, then, and moved to leave but she waved it off. Jack's leaving would not help a thing at this point.

"Rusty..." she trailed off at a loss for what to say. She didn't understand.

He scoffed loudly, but didn't turn back. "You don't get it, Sharon. Everyone says nothing changes. But it does. Everything changes." He then met her gaze. "I've played this game before. So I know how it ends. And guess what?" He then threw his hands up. "I'm not playing it again. So, I guess, you're welcome, Sharon." He shrugged, his voice cracking several times. "You did your good deed, adopting the little orphan no one wanted, and got your perfect little family back."

She stared at him, seeing the heartbreak and fear all over Rusty's face. Oh, her sweet boy, he thought—

"You think she took you in to get in God's good graces?" Jack cut in quietly. "Rusty, son, listen to me."

"I'm not your son," he snapped, glaring at Jack instantly. "Even Ricky doesn't claim to be your son anymore."

"Rusty!" Sharon didn't even need to look at Jack to know how deep that had hurt him.

Not missing a beat, Jack quietly said, "She took you in, young man, because-"

"Because she pitied me, the underage hustler who was passed around-"

"She loves you, Rusty," Jack stated, talking over Rusty. "It may have started out as her keeping a material witness safe, likely for the first day or so, but I promise you that she wouldn't have put up with all the trouble if she didn't care for you."

Rusty shook his head.

Jack then sighed heavily. "Look. It's understandable that you're afraid-"

"I'm not!"

Jack kept going. "I am too. I mean, I've screwed up so many times over the years, Rusty. Wasted so many chances. You think we didn't know that you kids would take this badly? We did. It's why she wanted us to wait so long. To make sure that when the time was right to tell all of you, that there was a reason for upsetting all of you. Because trust me, kid. She loves all of you kids, and she doesn't enjoy upsetting any of you."

Rusty hesitantly glanced at her before looking away.

"She's not going to choose me over you, Rusty, or any of the other kids. I just get another chance at being a part of her life."

"I'll try to remember that the next time I'm waiting for her to pick me up from the zoo, and she never shows," Rusty snarled back.

That hurt. A lot. Even if every word was spit out in complete rage, it hurt. Sharon was pretty sure there was a knife sticking out of her chest, because it felt like he'd driven it straight through her heart.

"That's enough." She didn't raise her voice. But they both heard her. Even the city below must have heard her because suddenly a silence fell over the apartment that was so thick one could practically see it. She took a deep breath. And another. And another before she spoke, never breaking eye contact with Rusty. "This conv—"

"What the hell sort of person do you think she is?" Jack cut her off abruptly, standing so he was practically eye to eye with Rusty. He shook a finger angrily at the boy. "How can you accuse HER of all people of that?"

"Jack—" she started to say, but was cut off once again. She was really getting tired of that.

"No, Sharon, no." He turned his attention to her now. "I don't care if he is a just a teenager still. That was completely uncalled for." His attention returned to Rusty who was standing open mouthed, shocked silent for a moment, but still obviously angry. Jack's initial burst of anger had faded, however, and he'd begun to regain control. "I've heard her be accused of a lot of things over the years by people who know her far less than you and I. I've even heard Ricky and Emily say some pretty horrible things to her. But never have I heard ANYONE accuse her of neglecting her children. Hell, even Emily never hit that low, and she had a mouth on her vicious enough to be a damn good lawyer."

Rusty's eyes went to slits. "How would you know? According to her, you were never around."

Sharon closed her eyes. This was getting out of hand, but she had no idea how to reign it in. She glanced towards her Christmas tree, finding one of her favorite angel ornaments, and said a soft prayer.

Jack was quiet for a moment. "That's true. I wasn't around as often as I should have been. But I did see a few of those legendary mother-daughter fights when I was around. And I promise you, Rusty, they were vicious. But Sharon never kicked Emily out. Never left her on the side of the road to fend for herself no matter how horrible Emily was. Hell, I even told you the story about Ricky and the police commissioner's car. She still kept him around too. And she didn't leave you at the police station when she found out about what you did to her car either, so I really—"

Jack stopped talking abruptly. Sharon looked at Jack in confusion for a moment. Her car? What about her car? She looked at Rusty and saw why Jack had cut himself off. The boy somehow looked even more horrified.

"You didn't tell her yet?" Jack said, sounding a little amused while at the same time realizing he'd put his foot in his mouth.

Rusty's eyes danced frantically between Jack and her. She stood up and moved towards him, slowly even as she fought the instinct to rush to him. "Rusty…"

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out, acting like a wounded animal. "I'm really, really sorry, Sharon."

She was in front of him now, less than a foot between them, as she looked him over. She searched for any sign of injury, ignoring his continued apologizes. When her eyes couldn't find anything, she placed her hands on his shoulders and turned him around. He was babbling on about what had happened now. Something about a golf cart. Finding no visible injuries, she turned him back around before wrapping him in her arms. His talking abruptly came to an end.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Worry was etched into every word. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he said quietly, his arms tightened around her for a moment before he pulled away. "I'm okay."

Sharon looked him up and down once more. All the fight seemed to have left him. She'd have hugged him at the station if she'd known that was all it took.

"I'm sorry about your car," he repeated, tensing as if he was expecting the other shoe to drop.

"I'm just glad you're okay, Rusty." When he opened his mouth, likely to apologize more, she held up her and cut him off. "We'll take a look at the damage after we've all gotten some sleep."

Rusty's eyes darted to Jack for a moment before he nodded. She almost wrapped him in her arms again because he couldn't look more like a kicked puppy if he tried.

The silence that surrounded them this time was not so much visible as it was awkward. Her fingertips met between her eyebrows, and she rubbed for a moment, letting the silence settle. She closed her eyes briefly, her mind replaying their conversations. He was scared that things would change, that his happiness would be taken away from him again, as it had always been done before. She needed to ease those fears.

"Okay," she finally said, her mind settling on a plan a few moments later. "Rusty, I'm sorry you had to find out about Jack and me this way. But that can't be changed now. You're going to have to accept it, young man. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter." She waited for him to comment, but Rusty remained silent. "All right." She drew in a slow breath. "Since none of us got much sleep last night, I think an early night is in order."

She watched Rusty, who was watching Jack. He probably was waiting to see if Jack would leave, she guessed. Her eyes then darted to Jack and found that he was looking to her for guidance. Most likely looking for a sign that he could stay the night again. She bit back a sigh and considered just going to her bedroom and locking the door behind her.

They'd probably work together to break the door down, though.

"Rusty…" she trailed off, hoping the tone alone would be warning enough for him.

He rolled eyes, but started heading towards the hall. "Good night."

"Night," Jack called after him.

"Good night, Rusty," she replied. He was almost halfway down the hall before she added, "Love you." She could see Jack's faint smile in the mirror and resisted the urge to elbow him hard in the ribs.

With his hand on the door, Rusty finally turned towards her. "Yeah. Love you, too."

She smiled at the young man until he was safe inside his room. As soon as the door closed, she felt arms wrap around her waist from behind.

"I'm sorry, Sharon," Jack apologized quietly, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I meant to leave, but . . . I must have fallen asleep after you left."

"It's fine." She rested her hands on top of his and leaned back into him. "They were going to find out soon anyway."

"Not like this."

She gave a soft laugh and shook her head. "I've found that very few things work out the way I plan them." She turned then to face him. His arms remained wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. She wrapped her arms around him in turn and rested her head on his shoulder. Her eyes closed as she listened to the sound of his heart beating underneath her ear. She had missed this, these quiet moments between her and Jack.

He pulled away after a moment. "I'll leave you to get some sleep."

Her chest clenched instantly at the familiar ache his leaving to go to his apartment would always leave nowadays. "Stay," she whispered, her eyes meeting his. "Please."

Clearing his throat quietly, Jack then glanced down the hall pointedly. "Are you sure that's such a good idea, Sharon, considering?"

"You're exhausted." She then gave another short laugh, memories flashing briefly in her mind from the previous night. "_I'm_ exhausted." She heard his quiet chuckle as his mind likely joined hers. "I'd feel better if you slept here tonight."

"Oh, I don't know," Jack started to say, his badly concealed grin giving away his amusement. "You might not ever get rid of me if I stay another night."

Rolling her eyes, she drawled, "What else is new?"

"Touché." He then glanced towards the Christmas tree before stepping out of her embrace.

She turned her head to the side and stared after him. "Jack?" Her eyes narrowed when he pulled a small wrapped gift from out behind the tree.

"I was going to give this to you at Christmas, but . . ." He shrugged, holding the small box out to her. A faint smile tugged at his lips.

She let the box sit in the palm of her hand for a few moments, just staring at it. "Jack, so help me, if this is a ring—"

"Oh, God, no," he exclaimed, chuckling. "I think we both learned that lesson." He then jerked his head towards the box. "Just open it."

Sighing quietly, she slowly opened his gift. Her heart was pounding wildly in anticipation and worry. As soon as she took the lid off, she glanced at him, her eyes narrowing. "A flash drive?"

He reached for her laptop before leading her towards the sofa a moment later. "I know. It's not exactly spectacular, but . . . humor me, will you?"

She frowned but stuck the flash drive into its port, bringing up the folder instantly. She glanced at him confused when she saw the 'Click Me' file. He urged her to click it, though, which she did a moment later. Her eyes widened when her screen went black for a second before a photo appeared. Her breath caught in the back of her throat, as her eyes darted up to him in shock.

"Who's that?" Rusty asked quietly behind her, looking over her shoulder at her computer screen. She jumped instantly, glancing up and noticing that Rusty had apparently changed into pajamas before he had come back into the living room. She was going to put a bell on him one of these days.

"That, kiddo, is your mom holding your sister," Jack answered. "About an hour or two after Emily was born."

"Where on earth did you find them?" Sharon asked breathlessly. She had thought she had lost these photos forever. She had looked all over for them, finally assuming that they had become a casualty of the big move.

"Went back to the old house and," Jack shrugged "asked the new owners if they had found any boxes that weren't theirs when they moved in. The box with the photos had been stuffed in the attic. Or at least that's where I found them."

"That's Emily?" Rusty asked in disbelief, slowly walking around the sofa before sitting beside Sharon. More photos flickered past of the sweet little girl in her proud mommy's arms.

Sharon burst out laughing at the next photo. Emily, the cute little three-year-old, had a horrified look on her face at the sight of her mom's pregnant belly.

"You weren't kidding. She really didn't want Ricky."

Sharon laughed again, nodding before another photo appeared on the screen. This time Emily was holding her little brother, her eyes all alight with happiness.

"Course I may have went and used some of the photos from your book, too," Jack admitted a few moments later.

Her head then cocked to the side as she caught more recent photos of the kids. But the moment a photo of Rusty popped up on the screen, she and Rusty both inhaled sharply.

"Jack?"

"And I may have asked Provenza for some help, once or twice," he stated, clearing his throat. "Or a lot. But he had the more recent photos thanks to Buzz, so I had to use him."

More photos of Rusty and Sharon throughout the past three years then appeared on the screen. The last photo, however, was of them in front of the Christmas tree that had been set up in the Murder Room. Sharon had been giving Rusty a sideways hug, and the young man seemed to be trying to pretend that he was trying to get out of it.

"How did you ever get him to agree?"

"Uh, well, um, do I have to answer that?" Jack asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes."

He sighed heavily and shrugged. "I may have stated that I'd . . . help him with a certain favor."

"Jack Raydor, what did you promise him?" she demanded, giving him a look. Memories of their marriage quickly rushed to the forefront of her mind.

Jack's hands went up instantly. "Now, Sharon, wait. You don't—"

"What did you promise him?" she repeated deathly quiet, her eyes narrowing.

He winced, glancing down. "Well, I sort of may have promised him that I'd clean his gutters or something. And . . ." His voice trailed off, as he glanced hesitantly at her before reaching across and closing the laptop. His eyes then briefly glanced at Rusty. After a moment, he seemed to decide it was okay for him to hear this. His gaze then returned to her. "And that if things don't go so well this time, that I won't just up and run. I'll at least talk to you first and see if we can work this out together, whatever issue it is."

Were her ears deceiving her? Did he just state that he wouldn't turn tail and run when things got tough and reality took over? Now there was something she wasn't used to hearing. She'd owe Provenza a very large 'Thank you' if this worked and Jack kept those promises as well.

"And, well, I may have also promised," Jack mumbled, his head down, "that I wouldn't let you go overboard with Christmas this year."

"Excuse me? I never go overboard with Christmas." She heard Rusty's snickers beside her instantly and frowned. Was a tree full of angel ornaments overboard? She didn't think so.

"_Nutcracker_, I understand," Jack replied. "It was Emily's first big ballet performance ever. Even the poinsettias in the vases I get. But, Sharon, honestly, look around us." He then motioned to all the garland and lights strung up around them. His eyes next moved to her Christmas-themed salt and pepper shakers. "Every year we've got to figure out which one is the salt, dear." He pointed then at the patio doors and ceiling where she had hung snowflakes. "And every air freshener in this place is either Pine trees or our favorite . . . gingerbread."

"There's nothing wrong with any of that."

"You replaced all of the cups around here, Sharon, with ones that have reindeer, Santa, or Frosty on them."

"It's festive," she argued.

"You have _It's a Wonderful Life_ playing non-stop in the break room at the station."

"I'm not forcing them to watch it."

"The cookies, Sharon! Every single day you've given me, and likely Rusty, gingersnap cookies."

"You're just a Grinch. Both of you."

They both laughed, causing her to give them mild glares.

"Just for that," she said, wagging her finger at them, "you're both watching _The Grinch_ with me_._"

Jack and Rusty both groaned in unison, but their groans were clearly theatrical as they couldn't hide their grins.

"Do we at least get hot chocolate?" Rusty asked with a wide grin, leaning over the back of the couch. Sharon rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Fine. I'll make them, but you get the movie ready, buster," she replied, giving the young man a look. She smiled when he shrugged and headed off to comply.

"So, Rusty," Jack started, turning towards the young man as Rusty sat down on the sofa. "What will it take to get you to clean Provenza's gutters?"

She paused for a moment and heard Rusty's instant laugh.

"Dream on, Jack."

Stifling her laugh, she turned away, grabbing the packets of hot chocolate from the Frosty tray. In just a few days, she'd have her whole family under one roof. Finally. She smiled, pouring the milk into each cup before warming it up. It had been a long time coming. Her perfect Christmas. After she added the hot chocolate and stirred, she turned back with the cups in hand, Rudolph and Santa respectively.

"Hey, Sharon. You remembered to put the jumbo marshmallows in, right?" Jack asked, not bothering to turn away from the TV as he and Rusty were watching the trailers for other Christmas movies.

She sighed inwardly and glanced upwards at the ceiling.

Well, as perfect as Christmas could be with them.


End file.
